How I Financed My School StartUp When I Was Jobless.

Yesterday, I posted on how I started a school when I was jobless.

If you read that piece, the question I believe in your mind is: how did you finance the school startup?

After my unplastered and windowless single classroom block with no door was ready; word had gone around in the family that after failing to get a job, I had resorted to taking residence in the village. By implication,I had given up on my job search journey.

Others suggested that I was dealing with delayed grieving. Since I lost my father, I was a student and the war was on, now the return and resettlement process had brought back memories of the loss of my father.

Aunty Lilly, who is specially blessed in her guidance role asked that I visit her.

Aunty Lilly, is the kind of Aunt you kept close if life troubled you. She has a way with words and wisdom. She is the kind you need to speak at your wedding.

Sadly, Aunty Lilly had just returned from Mulago Hospital. A truck full with business men and women and their goods had an accident. Unfortunately, this left her paralysed on both legs.

Despite all this, she still asked that I visit her. I explained to her that I was fine and I was not grieving. I also told her, I have not given up on job searching just that I was tired of waiting for the right time to pursue my dream of starting a school.

When she learnt that I had made some money from the consultancy and constructed a single classroom block; she was moved by my inspiration.

” I am not that educated but know the value of education. When I got married in this family,it was clear everything was about education. I see, you are following your fathers footsteps. I have nothing to offer you but my nywal ber sauce pan to cook porridge for your pupils,” said Lilly.

Nywal ber literally means it’s good to have children. A name given to big saucepans to cook for a big family or on occasions. It was new and I could tell she treasured it but educating children from the village that gifted her a loving husband was more important.

Rings of tears developed in my eyes. I had met another person in the family who shared a vision with me.

This was the second gesture of generosity from my family for which I will forever remain indebted.

The first gesture was by my illiterate granny- Min Matata.

When she heard that I had been visiting the village, she called my mother inquiring why I was visiting the village and not showing up home.

“What have you told your children about us that makes your son visit the village and not pay us any courtesy call?” she had asked.

On the day, I was to buy land; a cousin was stratgically placed at the trading center to ambush me before I buy the land to get granny’s blessings.

I arrived home only to find my mother in the company of my granny.

“Don’t take development far away when we need it in this village” said granny.

Granny later instructed Matata,a cousin to direct me to the already demarcated four acre piece of land on which to build my school.

Since I was jobless,I was to pay when I had the money.

I finally started the school. In another unrelated conversation after a Rotary Fellowship; I pitched to two female Rotary colleagues about my new school project.

I believe I must have told a good story about the little girls in my school and how their parents were struggling to pay fees yet they are excited to be in school.

“I love school because our porridge has sugar” a pupil once told me.

This two female Rotarians chatting me over beer after fellowship were inspired to be my local donors.

They had calculated that if they denied themselves 3 beers every week, they could afford fees for a girlchild in my school in a month. For a year; they sponsored two pupils.

This individual donation came after another old boy and a friend of the bottle offered the slab for the school toilet when I told him the pupils were litering the compound with excreta.

I share with you these stories to inspire those holding back their dreams because in their opinion,they don’t have enough capital to begin their project.

First get started with what you have. Once you have a good project idea, funding support may come from unlikely sources like family and friends.

Humans love to identify with a good cause. If you are deeply passionate about your project, ideas will always come on how to move it forward and so does divine intervention.

So, as we celebrated 9 years of our existence as a school despite COVID-19 and other challenges; I invited Aunty Lilly with the spiritual gifting of speech to inspire the parents of the school on the importance of educating their children.

It was also a form of accountability to her on how her nywal ber saucepan has educated hundreds of children in 9 yrs.

Tomorrow, I will share with you how sweets, biscuits and ice cream have kept our schools taste buds flavoured during bitter days as part of our sustainability plan for 9 years.

Picture Caption: My mom giving moral support to Aunty Lilly during her speech to parents.